multiversallogs | new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind

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new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind

Who: Any and all Hellsing Staff & guests they invite.
What: Fall dinner.
Where: Hellsing Guild Hall
When: Shundi evening.

At some point during the week, Sebastian posted a brief notice up on the staff bulletin board:

Autumn Dinner
Sunday Evening. Dining Hall. Potluck. BYOB.

When Sunday rolls around, Sebastian has brought along a tray of fruit, cheese, some preserves, and fresh bread.

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"Of course not," Brie said, handing over the bowl and thankful that she now could use both hands to hold on to the cake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Brie." After a quick pause, she added "I'm new."

"I think we all are. Within a few months, at least." The potluck table isn't far and Sebastian's dog, Velcro, stays nearby but out from underfoot. Only under exceptional circumstances can one find them separated. "Thanks for coming out."

"Thank you for organizing this."

She was eyeing Velcro now, resisting the impulsive desire to pet him without asking. "To be very honest, I haven't met very many people since I've arrived in the city at all -- and well, this seemed like a wonderful opportunity."

And then she just couldn't resist anymore and had to ask, "Could I -- pet your dog?"

"Sure. His name's Velcro and he's very well trained," he replies while unloading the fruit salad. While he does provide support, Velcro isn't official working tonight and can be petted, fussed over, and generally bothered.

"And, it's nothing, really. Just a good idea to get to know the people you're expected to work with." The 'and fight alongside' is unsaid.

Brie moved her right hand to behind Velcro's ear and began scratching. Dogs always liked that, and she enjoyed seeing animals happy.

"So what department are you in LeMat? Your name sounds slightly familiar."

"Groundskeeper, general repair, that sort of thing." When he was younger, he often wondered what Hagrid got out of his position besides being able to indulge in his odd, monster-favouring hobbies. Now that he's older, Sebastian knows that was the point all along.

"And you?"

"Field agent. But I haven't gone on a mission yet."

Sebastian nods appreciatively; that's a good job.

"And back home? What did you do before coming here?"

"I was part of a female organization that fought crime," Brie said. "Sounds cheesy, I know. But I wanted to join ever since I was a little girl. When I turned 20, they finally let me in."

She was going to avoid telling Sebastian that she had to get embraced for that to happen. Plus, she was mortal now.

"It's not 'cheesy', at least, I don't think so." Sebastian sincerely believes that it's a wonderful and rare thing for people to be able to pick a goal and achieve it.

Brie smiles. This guy isn't half bad.

"And you? What did you do in your world?"

"These days, much the same as I do here, but when I was younger I was a soldier." Which might explain a few things about his demeanour and the visible injuries.

A look of recognition washes over Brie's face. She had seen his hand injuries earlier, but held her tongue.

"That was awfully noble of you."

Sebastian's expression is a bit odd as he debates whether or not to be wholly honest with her or not.

"Not particularly noble, actually, but it was a necessary thing."

Her voice was softer now, treading lightly.

"Necessary, like a draft? Or were you forced into it by outside circumstances?"

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other," he answers casually. It's not easy to explain, nor is it polite potluck chit-chat to go into the details of how and why one was a child solider. Although, if he is somewhere in his mid-twenties, been a handyman for a few years, it's fair for Brie to guess that he began to fight relatively young.

There's a five second pause, as Brie tries to estimate Sebastian's age. She didn't mean to pry, and if Sebastian wasn't proud of being a soldier, then this was not the right time to talk about it. Brie did make a mental note however, to ask him about it later, if the right time ever came.

Then, unexpectedly, Brie realized who exactly it was she was speaking to. But just to make sure, she'd ask.

"On the other hand, I think you've already met a young woman here who comes from the same place I do. Jones?"

"We've met, briefly." They've run into each other a few times and he even worked up the nerve to call her and invite her out to Réjean's post-disaster party. He's not really sure what else to say about Jones, other than she's a lovely young woman, but that's a bit too stodgy to actually say aloud.

Not the eyes-lighting-up reaction Brie was expecting, but a neutral reaction isn't bad. It meant there was potential, and seeing how much Jones tried to hide her interest, well, it was probably safe to bet that these two would eventually figure things out on their own.

"Ah. Jones and I are roommates now. She's spoken of you once or twice."

Be necessity, Sebastian has become an intensely private man and is now only slowly learning to offer his opinions. There is a short list of men and women he's willing to be entirely frank with and currently they're all somewhere in the guild, if not in the dining hall.

"I don't think I've done anything too terrible in front of her."

Brie lets out a laugh.

"Probably not. From what I've heard, you've been a charming gentleman."

She scratches Velcro a few more times behind the ear before asking, "So Mr. LeMat, why Hellsing?"

"I've worked with them before, I trust and respect Sir Hellsing and the Princess a great deal." It's all true and there's a marked softness to his tone when talking about Nuala -- he really does care about her. Unsaid, there are other reasons for working with Hellsing: he likes the structure of it, that they're doing good work, that they include people of all different walks of life, and so on.

"And you?"

"Remember the female crime-fighting group I told you about before? Hellsing was the closest thing I could find here. I think the group and I, we're trying each other out for now, and seeing how we fit."

Brie glances around at the other guests.

"It's a way for me to meet and work with people who share common beliefs."

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new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind

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